[
Click on a title or segment of the pie chart
above to view more information. ]

Key
Points

The
chart above compares the use of tax dollars by state and local
entities; the shaded areas indicate the share of tax dollars that
are utilized by local entities. It is readily apparent that local
governments spend more than the Nebraska state government spends
for its own purposes. Local spending of major state and local
tax dollars makes up 60 percent of the total, or about $3 billion.
If you refer back to the Major State
and Local Sources of Tax Dollars chart, you would find that
the state-local shares there are almost exactly the opposite.
Nebraska's state government raises about 60 percent of the major
state and local taxes collected, but spends only 40 percent. The
other 20 percent is given as aid to local governments. Local governments
spend 60 percent of the revenue from the major tax sources, while
collecting only 40 percent.

Stated in terms of
dollars, the state raises about $3 billion and spends $2 billion,
appropriating $1 billion in state aid to local governments. Local
governments raise about $2 billion from the major tax sources
and spend that plus the $1 billion that is received in state aid.

It is also evident
from the chart above that spending related to K-12 schools is
almost equal to total state spending.

You may may click
on any of the slices of the coin above to find more detailed information
on spending by each of these units of government.

State
Use

State
spending:
Data on state uses of major state and local taxes that is
provided in this section include general fund expenditures less
aid to local governments which is shown under the local use of
major taxes. Also included is the Department of Roads' share of
the highway funds which include gas taxes, sales tax on motor
vehicles and registration fees; and the variable gas tax which
is retained solely by the state.

Local
Use

Local
taxes and local spending: Data on local uses of major state
and local taxes that is provided in this section includes property
taxes, city sales taxes, the city and county share of highway
revenues, and state aid to local governments funded through the
state general fund. Revenue sources for cities and counties such
as inheritance tax, wheel tax, and franchise taxes are not included
as data at the statewide level is not available.

The data
is taken from different data sources, including the annual budgets
filed by cities and counties with the Nebraska State Auditors
office. Local spending can include things other than the major
state and local tax funds described above, such as federal grant
funds, miscellaneous local taxes and user fees. The budget amounts
shown exclude utility revenues like electric charges, water and
sewer revenues, and hospital patient fee revenues.

The
chart directly above shows in six general categories how major
state and local tax revenues are used in Nebraska.

Education
consumes nearly half of all the tax dollars raised in this state.
Nearly $2.4 billion of the $4.9 billion in state and local taxes
collected were spent on education. The
ranking information linked below demonstrates that Nebraska's
spending on education ranks higher than most other states both
in total dollars and in the percentage of total revenue committed
to this use.

About 3/4
of the tax dollars used for education were used for K-12 education,
mostly by school districts and educational service units (ESUs).
The other 25 percent was allocated to higher education: the university
system, state colleges and community colleges.

Other high
priorities include health and human services and roads, transportation,
and public works. Despite spending 18 percent of its total tax
dollars in the health and human services field, Nebraska still
ranks lower than most states on spending per capita for health
and human services and as a share of total spending.

Less surprising
is the emphasis on roads, transportation, and public works. Nebraska,
like other sparsely-populated states, tends to spend more on roads
and streets. The ranking information linked below also supports
this conclusion.